Localization and environment of tryptophans in soluble and membrane-bound states of a pore-forming toxin from Staphylococcus aureus. (1/116)

The location and environment of tryptophans in the soluble and membrane-bound forms of Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin were monitored using intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence. Fluorescence quenching of the toxin monomer in solution indicated varying degrees of tryptophan burial within the protein interior. N-Bromosuccinimide readily abolished 80% of the fluorescence in solution. The residual fluorescence of the modified toxin showed a blue-shifted emission maximum, a longer fluorescence lifetime as compared to the unmodified and membrane-bound alpha-toxin, and a 5- to 6-nm red edge excitation shift, all indicating a restricted tryptophan environment and deeply buried tryptophans. In the membrane-bound form, the fluorescence of alpha-toxin was quenched by iodide, indicating a conformational change leading to exposure of some tryptophans. A shorter average lifetime of tryptophans in the membrane-bound alpha-toxin as compared to the native toxin supported the conclusions based on iodide quenching of the membrane-bound toxin. Fluorescence quenching of membrane-bound alpha-toxin using brominated and spin-labeled fatty acids showed no quenching of fluorescence using brominated lipids. However, significant quenching was observed using 5- and 12-doxyl stearic acids. An average depth calculation using the parallax method indicated that the doxyl-quenchable tryptophans are located at an average depth of 10 A from the center of the bilayer close to the membrane interface. This was found to be in striking agreement with the recently described structure of the membrane-bound form of alpha-toxin.  (+info)

Characterization of exo-(1,4)-alpha glucan lyase from red alga Gracilaria chorda. Activation, inactivation and the kinetic properties of the enzyme. (2/116)

Exo-(1,4)-alpha glucan lyase (GLase) was purified from a red alga Gracilaria chorda. The enzyme was activated 1.3-fold in the presence of Ca(2+) and Cl(-) ions. The ions also stabilized the enzyme increasing the temperature of its maximum activity from 45 degrees C to 50 degrees C. GLase was inactivated by chemical modification with carbodiimide and a carboxyl group of the enzyme was shown essential to the lyase activity. A tryptophanyl residue(s) was also shown to be important for the activity and was probably involved in substrate binding. K(m) values of the enzyme were 2.3 mM for maltose, 0.4 mM for maltotriose and 0.1 mM for maltooligosaccharides of degree of polymerization (dp) 4-7, and the k(0) values for the oligosaccharides were similar (42-53 s(-1)). The analysis of these kinetic parameters showed that the enzyme has four subsites to accommodate oligosaccharides. The subsite map of GLase was unique, since subsite 1 and subsite 2 have large positive and small negative affinities, respectively. The subsite map of this type has not been found in other enzymes with exo-action on alpha-1,4-glucan. The K(m) and k(0) values for the polysaccharides were lower (0.03 mM) and higher (60-100 s(-1)), respectively, suggesting the presence of another affinity site specific to the polysaccharides.  (+info)

Energy transfer between terbium (III) and cobalt (II) in thermolysin: a new class of metal--metal distance probes. (3/116)

The visible fluorescence of terbium(III) when bound to a calcium binding site of thermolysin is greatly enhanced with an excitation maximum at 280 nm but substitution of cobalt(II) for zinc at the active site decreases the intensity by 89.5%. Treatment with N-bromosuccinimide quenches enzyme tryptophan and Tb(III) fluorescence to a similar extent and suggests the operation of tryptophan vector Tb(III) vector Co(II) energy relay system in the enzyme. Dipoledipole radiationless energy transfer between the Tb(III) donor and the Co(II) acceptor can account for this quenching. The inherent characteristics of the metal pair limits the value of the orientation factor, K2, of the Forster equation, thereby reducing uncertainties in distance measurements by energy transfer compared with other systems. A quantum yield of 0.51 yields a value of R0, the distance for 50% energy transfer, of 19.6 A, and a distance, R, between Tb(III) and Co(II) of 13.7 A, a value identical to that measured for the distance between the active site zinc atom and calcium atom number 1 by x-ray analysis in native thermolysin crystals. The limits of confidence of this measurement are discussed. Energy transfer between two different metal atom sites of a protein provides a new class of probes to measure intramolecular distances of biological macromolecules in solution.  (+info)

Purification and characterization of beta-1,3-xylanase from a marine bacterium, Vibrio sp. XY-214. (4/116)

beta-1,3-Xylanase was purified to gel electrophoretic homogeneity and 83-fold from a cell-free culture fluid of Vibrio sp. XY-214 by ammonium sulfate precipitation and successive chromatographies. The enzyme had a pl of 3.6 and a molecular mass of 52 kDa. The enzyme had the highest level of activity at pH 7.0 and 37 degrees C. The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by Cu2+, Hg2+, and N-bromosuccinimide. The enzyme hydrolyzed beta-1,3-xylan to produce mainly xylotriose and xylobiose but did not act on xylobiose, p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xyloside, beta-1,4-xylan, beta-1,3-glucan, or carboxymethyl cellulose.  (+info)

Structure-function studies of tryptophan mutants of equinatoxin II, a sea anemone pore-forming protein. (5/116)

Equinatoxin II (EqtII) is a eukaryotic cytolytic toxin that avidly creates pores in natural and model lipid membranes. It contains five tryptophan residues in three different regions of the molecule. In order to study its interaction with the lipid membranes, three tryptophan mutants, EqtII Trp(45), EqtII Trp(116/117) and EqtII Trp(149), were prepared in an Escherichia coli expression system [here, the tryptophan mutants are classified according to the position of the remaining tryptophan residue(s) in each mutated protein]. They all possess a single intrinsic fluorescent centre. All mutants were less haemolytically active than the wild-type, although the mechanism of erythrocyte damage was the same. EqtII Trp(116/117) resembles the wild-type in terms of its secondary structure content, as determined from Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and its fluorescent properties. Tryptophans at these two positions are buried within the hydrophobic interior of the protein, and are transferred to the lipid phase during the interaction with the lipid membrane. The secondary structure of the other two mutants, EqtII Trp(45) and EqtII Trp(149), was altered to a certain extent. EqtII Trp(149) was the most dissimilar from the wild-type, displaying a higher content of random-coil structure. It also retained the lowest number of nitrogen-bound protons after exchange with (2)H(2)O, which might indicate a reduced compactness of the molecule. Tryptophans in EqtII Trp(45) and EqtII Trp(149) were more exposed to water, and also remained as such in the membrane-bound form.  (+info)

Location of tryptophan residues in free and membrane bound Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin and their role on the lytic membrane properties. (6/116)

alpha-hemolysin (HlyA) is an extracellular protein toxin secreted by Escherichia coli that acts at the level of plasma cell membranes of target eukaryotic cells. Previous studies showed that toxin binding to the bilayers occurs in at least two ways, a reversible adsorption and an irreversible insertion. Studies of HlyA insertion into bilayers formed from phosphatidylcholine show that insertion is accompanied by an increase in the protein intrinsic fluorescence. In order to better define structural parameters of the membrane-bound form, the location of tryptophan residues was studied by means of quenchers of their intrinsic fluorescence located at 7, 12 and 16 positions of the acyl chain of phosphatidylcholine. The quenching was progressively weaker suggesting an interfacial location of the Trp. In parallel, HlyA was subjected to oxidation with N-bromosuccinimide to study the role of Trp residues exposed to aqueous media in its structure-function relationship. In the folded toxin molecule, a single residue was susceptible to oxidation with NBS, whereas incubation with LUV of the toxin prior modification prevents its oxidation, suggesting that Trp residue(s) are directly involved in toxin binding and insertion. Finally, the modification of residues exposed to solvent resulted in a complete impairment of the lytic activity. It was concluded that the modification-sensitive Trp residues are essential for the structure and function of native HlyA. These results are consistent with the model proposed by Soloaga et al. (Mol. Microbiol. 31 (1999) 1013-1024) according to which HlyA is bound to a single monolayer through a number of amphipathic instead of inserted transmembrane helices.  (+info)

Involvement of arginine and tryptophan residues in catalytic activity of glutaryl 7-aminocephalosporanic acid acylase from Pseudomonas sp. strain GK16. (7/116)

The glutaryl 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (GL-7-ACA) acylase from Pseudomonas sp. strain GK16 is an (alphabeta)2 heterotetramer of two non-identical subunits that are cleaved autoproteolytically from an enzymatically inactive precursor polypeptide. The newly formed N-terminal serine of the beta subunit plays an essential role as a nucleophile in enzyme activity. Chemical modification studies on the recombinant enzyme purified from Escherichia coli revealed the involvement of a single arginine and tryptophan residue, per alphabeta heterodimer of the enzyme, in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Glutaric acid, 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) (competitive inhibitors) and GL-7-ACA (substrate) could not protect the enzyme against phenylglyoxal-mediated inactivation, whereas except for glutaric acid protection was observed in case of N-bromosuccinimide-mediated inactivation of the enzyme. Kinetic parameters of partially inactivated enzyme samples suggested that while arginine is involved in catalysis, tryptophan is involved in substrate binding.  (+info)

Tryptophan environment in adenosine deaminase. I. Enzyme modification with N-bromosuccinimide in the presence of adenosine and EHNA analogues. (8/116)

Adenosine deaminase from bovine cerebral hemisphere (white and gray matter) and spleen was treated with N-bromosuccinimide, a reagent known to oxidize selectively tryptophan residues in proteins. Spectrally observable tryptophan modification was accompanied by enzyme inactivation. Tsow graphics revealed that two Trps are essential for the activity of enzyme from both tissues. Enzyme inhibitors and substrate analogues, derivatives of erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA) and adenosine, were able to protect Trp against modification, and this effect correlated in general with the enzyme activity protection. In the presence of adenosine deaza analogues (the noninhibitor tubercidin among them) only two Trps were modified in the fully inactivated enzyme. In the presence of EHNA and its deaza analogues, full inactivation of the enzyme was accompanied by the modification of four Trps. The obtained data confirm the previous hypothesis about the presence on the enzyme of different binding sites for adenosine and EHNA derivatives that are responsible for the different effects on the enzyme conformation elicited by the corresponding derivatives. Moreover, these data allow us to suggest that Trp residues, still unidentified by X-ray analysis, are essential for the functioning of the enzyme.  (+info)

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